Pictures by Bibhash Lodh, BS News Agency.
BS News Agency: Darkness has fallen on the field of the Center of Excellence in Rajarhat. The light of the lamppost is on. In that light, the dazzling physical self-confidence of the Indian footballers was visible. The 1-1 draw against Panama has strengthened the entire team before facing the powerful Brazil at the Yuva Bharati ground on October 3. And that is why the Indian team's forward Rahim Ali, who has easily shaken off the huge gap with Brazil in the FIFA rankings, is surprised by what he said. Brazilian star striker Rafinha is not coming with the team to Kolkata on Thursday afternoon due to injury. His club Barcelona has brought him back from Australia. However, Vinicius Junior is coming. Rahim said emphatically before Wednesday's practice, "I am a fan of Ronaldo. I also like the game of Neymar of the Brazilian team. I also like the game of Vinicius Junior. But if I get a chance to play in the Brazil match, and if the coach gives me the responsibility of stopping Vinicius, then I will stop him." It is not known whether the news of Rahim's courageous attitude will reach the ears of Brazil coach Carles Ancelotti or the team's mega star footballer Vinicius, but Rahim's statement that it will further motivate his teammates against the 5-time World Cup winner Brazil, which is ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings, can be expected.
The Uruguayan football team set foot in Kolkata on Wednesday. Their match with the Indian team will be held on October 6 at the Yuva Bharati. This is Uruguay's second visit to Kolkata. Earlier, Franciscoli and Ramos had captured the hearts of Kolkatans by playing eye-catching football in the Nehru Cup. The city is well-known to Uruguayan head coach Diego Forlan. Forlan came to Kolkata to take part in a reality show after the 2010 World Cup. Moreover, World Cup winner Forlan later played an ISL match for Mumbai City against ATK at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium. The excitement that Forlan experienced on his previous two visits to Kolkata was not felt by him or his players this time. They landed at Kolkata airport quietly on Wednesday afternoon and reached their hotel amidst tight security. Perhaps that is why there was no excitement or enthusiasm among football fans in Kolkata about the Uruguayan team. After reaching the hotel, the players stayed at home, but three team representatives went to inspect the Yuva Bharti training ground nearby. To understand whether the field and environment are suitable for practice.
While Uruguay is thinking about the match on October 6, the Indian team is now focused on the Brazil match. The 1-1 draw in Panama has boosted the team's confidence and created an unusual expectation in the minds of Indian football fans regarding the Brazil match, which is something that Indian team chief coach Khalid Jamil understands very well. And therefore, the most important task for Khalid is to control the emotions of the footballers before playing against Brazil. Those Indian footballers who will get the opportunity to play in the Brazil match know very well that it is their lifetime experience.
His echo was heard in the voice of Indian team forward Rahim Ali. Rahim, who played in the 2017 Under-19 World Cup, the pride of Bengal, said, "Playing against a team like Brazil is one of the greatest achievements in the life of any footballer. I will consider myself lucky if I get the opportunity to play. I am not sitting around losing before taking the field because there is a huge difference between us in the rankings. Rather, we will give our best on the field with the promise of an equal fight. Panama was also far ahead of us in the rankings. But we played as per coach Khalid Jamil's instructions and drew the match. "If the goals had been scored, we could have won. Brazil is stronger this time. We have to be more united to fight against them. The coach has said that we cannot stop a team like Brazil by staying in our shell, we have to play our natural football."